Pombo circulates draft of off-reservation bill (March 11, 2005)

Rep. Richard Pombo (R-California), chairman of the House Resources Committee, is circulating a draft bill that would limit off-reservation gaming. The bill would allow off-reservation casinos in no more than two "Indian Economic Opportunity Zones" per state. The Interior Department...

Montana's Indian lawmakers change focus of caucus (March 11, 2005)

Montana's seven Indian lawmakers have changed the mission of their caucus and will seek to make it more inclusive. The Indian Caucus will educate others on Indian issues rather than a stand on particular bills. The caucus also has a...

Norton lobbies Congress on trust fund accounting (March 11, 2005)

Interior Secretary Gale Norton urged Congress on Thursday to get involved in the battle over an historical accounting that the Bush administration is taking to a federal appeals court. In testimony before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, Norton sounded a warning...

Jodi Rave: Indians don't pay taxes and other myths (March 11, 2005)

"American Indians endure some common stereotypes: Drunk, lazy Indians get a free education, free housing and are free from paying taxes. American Indians are drunks? I've made a choice not to drink alcohol. American Indians are lazy? I go to...

Ex-tribal housing director pleads guilty to theft (March 11, 2005)

The former housing director for the Crow Tribe of Montana pleaded guilty on Thursday to embezzling more than $10,000. Dwight Elwin Stewart allegedly used some of the money to take his family to Disney World. He also falsified claims for...

Report: Churchill, CU reach buyout agreement (March 11, 2005)

Controversial professor Ward Churchill would receive less than $1 million under a buyout deal reached with the University of Colorado, The Denver Post reports. Details are sketchy but sources told the paper that Churchill will settle for as little as...

Troubles continue for Metis Nation of Saskatchewan (March 11, 2005)

The Métis Nation of Saskatchewan has canceled a legislative assembly due to lack of funds, delaying a new election that could resolve financial woes. The Métis Nation has lost more than $2 million in federal and provincial funding as a...

Cherokee Nation boys and girls teams head to state (March 11, 2005)

The Cherokee Nation is sending its boys and girls basketball teams to the state playoffs in Oklahoma City. The Sequoyah High School boys and girls teams are both competing in the class 3A tournament. Semi-final rounds are being played tonight....

Onondaga Nation names state, companies in land claim (March 11, 2005)

The Onondaga Nation is filing a land claim against the state of New York and private companies. The tribe is claiming about 4,000 square miles, including the entire city of Syracuse. The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the land still...

Column: Honoring the late, great Fritz Scholder (March 11, 2005)

"Fritz Scholder was a great colorist, but it was far more than a brilliant use of color that gave his work its emotional resonance. The power in his art comes partly from the telling details he included in his otherwise...

Column: Civilized Tribes owe reparations to slaves (March 11, 2005)

"We must also remember that some of our own American nations became corrupted by white-style slavery, including especially the Cherokee, Muskogee, Chickasaw, and Chakta republics. Between about 1800 and 1865 these nations allowed powerful wealthy men, usually mixed-bloods, to purchase...

Court joins Navajo Nation in discrimination case (March 11, 2005)

The Navajo Nation must answer to an employment discrimination suit brought against Peabody Coal, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday. The tribe signed leases with Peabody that contain a Navajo hiring preference. Two members of the Hopi Tribe and...

Bill gives New Mexico tribe a tax break on land (March 11, 2005)

A bill making its way through the New Mexico Legislature would give the Jicarilla Apache Nation would get a major tax break on the tribe's 32,000-acre ranch. When the tribe bought the Lodge at Chama in 1995, it was initially...

Army Corps allows permit for mine in Creek homeland (March 11, 2005)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday approved a permit for mine for clay in the homeland of the Muscogee Creek Nation. The permit allows Cherokee Brick & Tile Co. to mine for clay in the Ocmulgee Old Fields...

Editorial: Myers still 'unworthy' choice for appeals court (March 11, 2005)

"The Senate is preparing for a major showdown over the Democrats' use of the filibuster to block a handful of President Bush's judicial nominees. When the arguments about procedures are over, the key question will remain: Has Mr. Bush put...

Stillaguamish Tribe opposes ban on hunting (March 11, 2005)

The Stillaguamish Tribe, conservationists and hunters spoke out against a proposed ban on hunting on Leque Island in Washington. A local resident submitted a petition to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife but everyone opposed it at a public...

Deloria hailed as 'visionary' for role in Indian affairs (March 11, 2005)

Lakota author/activist Vine Deloria Jr. received the 2nd annual American Indian Visionary Award from Indian Country Today last week. Deloria, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, was honored for his efforts to promote Indian rights....

Violence against indigenous women discussed at UN (March 11, 2005)

Participants in the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women spoke about violence against indigenous women around the world. Mirna Cunningham, a former Nicaraguan government minister, said women of the Miskita Tribe who go to work in Honduras are raped...

Chief Illiniwek relegated to sidelines for games (March 11, 2005)

Fans won't see the Chief Illiniwek mascot when the University of Illinois basketball team heads to the Big Ten tournament this week. Controversy over the use of the mascot has relegated the "Chief" to the sidelines. The student who portrays...

Editorial: Closure of Si Tanka campus a 'shame' (March 11, 2005)

"There still is a chance Si Tanka University could survive, although as a dramatically changed entity - separate accreditation for the Eagle Butte and Huron campuses, and that alone will create additional challenges. So where does that leave the 191...

Si Tanka University campus to shut down by April 1 (March 11, 2005)

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota plans to close Si Tanka University's off-reservation campus by April 1 unless federal funds are provided. Si Tanka needs Bureau of Indian Affairs funds to stay alive. But the BIA won't release...

Navajo president vetoes funds for Boys & Girls Club (March 11, 2005)

Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. vetoed $1.25 million in emergency funds that would have allowed the 14 Boys & Girls Clubs on the reservation to reopen. The Navajo Nation Council approved the money and directed it to the non-profit...

House approves $284 billion transportation bill (March 11, 2005)

The House voted 417 to 9 on Thursday to approve a $284 billion transportation bill that reauthorizes the Indian Reservation Roads program. According to the Thomas Congressional web site, the TEA-LU Act contains a total of $2.315 billion for reservation...

EPA proposes rule to curb power-plant emissions (March 11, 2005)

The Environmental Protection Agency issued the Clean Air Interstate Rule to curb power-plant emissions in 28 eastern and midwestern states along with the District of Columbia. The rule requires power plants to reduce the release of toxic sulfur dioxide and...

Washington tribes press Congress on whale hunt (March 11, 2005)

Washington tribes are lobbying Congress to grant the Makah Nation a waiver to conduct its controversial whale hunt. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the tribe's right to whale but said the 1855 Treaty of Neah Bay has been...

Retailers criticize state tobacco deal for Puyallup Tribe (March 11, 2005)

Indian and non-Indian retailers are grumbling about a last-minute tobacco deal the state of Washington reached with the Puyallup Tribe. The deal requires the tribe to collect a tax of $11.75 per carton of cigarettes. But since most of the...

Two Montana tribes conducting study of ethanol plants (March 11, 2005)

Two Montana tribes are studying the possibility of building ethanol plants on their reservations. Leaders of the Chippewa Cree Tribe say an ethanol plant will create jobs and generate revenue for government services. They enlisted BBI International to study what...